Downtown's New Buildings

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The only thing that divides opinion is what should go in the large windowed space on the building’s north side. “It’s a really gorgeous space for a farmers’ market,” enthuses Quinn. “The retail should be a food store for the Old West Side,” agrees Rueter, “and the [People’s] Food Co-op is often mentioned as a possibility.” The rest concur—except for the often-contrarian Beckley, who sees “a furniture store like Crate and Barrel.”

The latest condo project to open, and probably the last for a while, is Ashley Terrace at the corner of Huron—Lowenstein’s “ziggurat wannabe.”

“Another ugly building,” laughs Beckley, “a carbuncle on the landscape. But think of number One North Main. It, too, is an ugly building, and it has receded in our vision. However, [Ashley Terrace] is not a nice building to walk past, not a building you’d want to walk past. It was like that with number One North Main, and now that whole stretch of Huron is like that.”

Luckenbach has a theory as to why Ashley Terrace looks the way it does: “The developer squeezed pennies on that project.” Rueter agrees: “It’s another example of a budget-driven building—and from the looks of it, the money was taken out of the top. But look at the corner on Ashley and Huron. It’s too weak. It’s large, but it’s not detailed enough for its size.”